"We're here," Buzz announced.
Jessica peered past the rock behind which they hid. Though it was dark, she could see the colors that lent the building its kid-friendly appearance. A Closed sign hung on the wall, but light came from within. "That's the place?"
"Affirmative. You're about to undergo a meticulous reparation stage that will be both beneficial and extremely tedious. I suggest you relax awhile first."
Jessica found that his words bothered her. "Will...will you stay with me?"
"Yeah, as long as you like." Finally, she was coming out of her shell.
She sat in the grass and he joined her. With nothing much to say, she rolled her eyeball between her hands. Buzz found it easier to look at the brick wall behind her. Holding it in the air she looked at him. "Wanna play ball?" she joked. He made a face and they were quiet again.
"I'm sorry I was rude," she finally said.
"No hard feelings. I understand."
She raised her brows at this like-new toy. "Really?"
"Yes. The other Jessie was trapped in a box for some time as well. Not even for half as long as you were, but she panics at the very mention of it. I can only imagine what you went through."
"Thank you," she said, and after a brief hesitation added, "I'm glad I met you. And despite the tedious and meticulous part, I'm looking forward to getting fixed."
"Well then, are you ready to get the tedious and meticulous part over with?"
Her answering grin touched only the right side of her face. She stood and crept up to the store, peering inside. The toy store was well lit, but quiet. Peering inside, she saw a middle-aged man with his back turned to her. He was sitting down, slumped close to his desk. It appeared he was doodling.
He'll never notice me, Jessica thought.
Not knowing what else to do, she knocked on the glass, then dropped to the cement, forcing herself to smile. Inside, the man turned to look at the door, but saw nobody. He turned back to his paper, and Jessica waited for what was surely ten seconds.
The store isn't that big, she thought. She lifted her head, but the top of the shelves and the ceiling were all she could see through the glass.
She got to her feet and looked at Buzz, who gazed back at her. She knocked again. This time when the man turned to look, she waved. His eyes found her and he squinted through his glasses. Getting up, he approached the door for a better look. Seeing a damaged toy looking up at him, he opened the door. "What on earth...?"
"Can you help me?" Jessica pleaded. "Can you fix me up?"
He knelt and she opened her hand, showing him her eye.
"Uh - I'm afraid you're too far gone, at least as far as my qualifications go." He shook his head. "Now I've seen it all."
The little toy looked so upset that he added, "Well, I'll do my best. Come in." He stepped back and she moved past his feet into the shop. "So, is...wh...Are all toys alive?"
"I've never met one that wasn't." I found one, she added silently, But he was a friend.
"Wow. Okay. Excuse me, just got to put you up high..." He picked her up and deposited her on the counter. "There you are. Now just sit back, and I'll see what I can do."
She lay down and focused on being still. The human was quiet as he worked. She felt him polish up her good eye, dust her cheeks with color, and he even cleaned her wool hair and replaced the ribbon. He made sure the buttons were nice and tight, repainted her boots, and fixed her nose.
But when he pulled open a drawer marked Spare Eyeballs, a disappointed look came over his face. He picked up the few that were in there and compared them to her good eye, then dumped the eyeballs back in the drawer. "Nope, sorry, that's all I can do for you. Unless you want this." He held up an eyeball half the size of her head.
"Nah, I'd always look surprised."
He threw it back in the drawer. "What I can do is fill it in."
She considered, then shook her head. "No," she murmured, "Just leave it."
"Sorry. Uh, I believe the closest repair shop with higher qualifications is located in Holland."
"How far away is that?"
"Two hours by car."
"Can you take me?"
He looked surprised. "Uh, that's four hours in total; I have work and home to see to. Besides, I don't drive."
Jessica tried not to let her disappointment make her come across as ungrateful. "Can you provide directions?" she asked.
Moments later she walked from the store and back to where Buzz waited, completely unaware that the store was being monitored by surveillance cameras.
Buzz looked surprised. "You're not done already, are you?"
"Yeah, that was all he could do," she sighed. "He said I could try Holland, but that's two hours away by car."
"Ouch."
"Um, what's a car, anyway?"
He looked surprised. "It's, uh, a mode of transportation. Humans sit in there and go places."
She nodded, then sighed. "Well...Sorry for taking you away from your friends." Before he could answer, she had suddenly picked up his hand. He felt an unexpected surge of guilt - they shouldn't be holding hands - he had a girlfriend -
"Do me a favor, give this to Woody to remember me by."
Suddenly he was holding her eyeball and she was walking away. He stared incredulously at her retreating back, noticing her brand new ribbon and clean wool hair.
All she needed was a hat and her eye.
"Jessica!" His voice stopped her. "Uh, please, keep it. If you're going everywhere, you might as well go to Holland."
She took it, greatly relieving him. She stared at it, disturbed to realize she had forgotten about her plans to travel the world. Alone. In her anger it had seemed conquerable, but now that Buzz had reached her destination and fulfilled her request, he would be leaving. She wouldn't have his company, or his help dodging cars, escaping dogs, and whatever else the crazy modern world could throw at her. Yet, she couldn't ask that he travel to Holland. He had already done more for her than she had for...anyone.
"Jess? You okay?"
She looked up. Her eye was wide. "Uh, I just...wish I was normal."
He nodded. "Take care," he muttered, and began to walk away.
She looked back down at her eyeball and gave it some quick thought. Everything she had gone through had been because she wanted to be repaired. She had lived through almost five decades, almost half a century, to get where she was. Her other alternative? To go back to Sunnyside and continue to fall apart until there was nothing left.
She curled her fingers around her eyeball and spoke to Buzz's waiting back. "'Bye, Buzz."
He continued to walk dutifully forward and she turned away from him, unable to watch him go. Carrying her eyeball she looked both ways before running across the crosswalk. Buzz turned and watched her familiar shape merge into the shadows of the night. Feeling like he had just left his Jessie behind, he begrudgingly turned and walked homeward.
-0-0-0-0-
Two hours by car. The terrain was mostly flat; a human in excellent shape might have been able to walk the distance in three hours. But for a toy?
Jessica was glad she couldn't feel literal pain. She moved forward, looking occasionally at the directions the shopkeeper had scribbled for her. Stopping behind a garbage can, Jessica peered up at the dark, starry sky. All was quiet, except for the barking of a dog somewhere behind the row of houses across the street to her left. Thankfully the houses all had a fenced yard in common. She waited for a yellow smart car to drive past, shining under the illumination of the street lamp before she abandoned her hiding place behind the garbage can, making a break for the one on the next property.
The motion detector light came on.
Jessica raced to the garbage can and peered past the dent, waiting to see if somebody would check. She waited until the light went out. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped over the lawn divider and ran to the next garbage can. While catching her breath, she put her hands on her knees and bowed her head; and there, on the grass, she saw a pale blue plastic cane near her foot. It was old and broken. Like me, she thought. But not for long. She stood tall and held her head high as she walked forward, ready to embrace her fate. Nothing would stop her from -
The sound of another car had her stop, dropping to the concrete with a smile that only touched her left eye. The car drove by, then came to a stop. The faint squeal of the brakes warned Jessica to remain still, and much too soon she heard footsteps approaching.
The women knelt and picked Jessica up. Her hazel eyes frowned as she realized the toy was not only clutching her eyeball, but...a map. She turned and walked quickly to the car, climbing in rambunctiously. "Take a look at this."
The man behind the wheel peered at the toy. "Was it made paralyzed?"
"Look at its hand," she ordered, and he looked down, turning it over in his fingers.
"Maybe it's a gag toy. You know, a broken doll walking itself to the toy store."
The woman looked closer at the map. "This is for the Doll Hospital."
"So?"
"So, it wasn't built until after Jessie dolls were made. These things are old...But these directions aren't." She looked at him as a second realization hit her. "And I didn't see her there earlier."
He considered her words, then made a motion with his hand. "Get in, you're letting out all the heat."
She sat properly and closed the door, and as he began to drive he asked, "So what, you think it's alive?"
"I'm saying it's...odd." She wouldn't meet his eyes; her cheeks were turning red.
"How do you even know what a Jessie doll is? Did I miss the ads every time?" he asked skeptically.
"I used to own one. Back in the day when...James was alive." She hated lying, but who would believe she, a successful banker, had an undying friendship with a furry monster?
But Jessica remembered the name. She didn't think too many people who knew a James also lost a Jessie doll, and her metaphorical heart began to soar when she realized she had been united with her owner. No longer able to maintain the facade, she lifted her head. "Mary?"